Cosmetic cleansing agents, such as hair shampoos for example, are based on conventional anionic, amphoteric, zwitterionic, non-ionic and/or cationic surfactants.
Due to their excellent cleansing and foaming performance, anionic surfactants are predominantly used, optionally in a mixture with small amounts of co-surfactants. Typical anionic surfactants which are used in many commercially available shampoos are alkyl sulfates or alkyl ether sulfates. Alkyl ether sulfates are usually preferred since they are milder and have an outstanding foaming performance.
When formulating particularly mild cleansing compositions for use on sensitive areas of skin (such as the skin of the face for example), for use on baby skin or for use on sensitive and/or damaged hair, alkyl ether sulfates are not always satisfactory since they can have too high an irritation potential and can cause damaged hair to become increasingly brittle.
In the past, therefore, numerous attempts have been made to find particularly mild surfactant mixtures which have sufficiently high foam quantities and qualities, and which have no or only a slight potential for causing irritation to the skin and/or mucous membranes. The surfactant mixtures should moreover be suitable for use in hair treatment agents, specifically for use in hair cleansing agents with good care properties.
In the application WO 92/08440, mild surfactant mixtures having excellent foam properties are disclosed, which include a mixture of acyl isethionates, zwitterionic surfactants and alkyl ether sulfates. WO 11/015857 discloses cleansing compositions with a low potential for causing irritation to the skin, which include novel C5-30 alkoyl alkyl isethionates and amphoteric surfactants in a weight ratio of 4:1 to 1:4. The mild cleansing agents are suitable for use as a baby shampoo.
One disadvantage of many mild skin and hair cleansing agents is that the better skin tolerability thereof is often at the expense of the texture of the cleansing agents.
Also disadvantageous are the often unsatisfactory foam amounts and foam properties which can be achieved with mild hair cleansing agents. In addition, it has been observed that the care properties of mild cleansing agents (particularly on the hair) are not always satisfactory.
It is therefore desirable to produce particularly mild cosmetic cleansing agents which are well-tolerated by the skin and mucous membranes. The cleansing agents should have a user-friendly texture and should, in conjunction with water, produce a large amount of foam. The cleansing agents should also have improved care properties.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.